Katy Mayall, from the Center for Reproductive Rights, spoke at the International Conference on Family Planning on how the fall of Roe v. Wade makes the U.S. an outlier to the global trend of liberalizing abortion laws. The Center has achieved critical victories advancing reproductive rights in Kenya, including two landmark rulings. A new resource highlights the Center’s work in the fight for safe and legal abortion care in that country. And last week, in collaboration with the Brennan Center for Justice, we launched a new tracker that follows the 34 cases that have been filed against abortion bans in 19 states across the U.S.

Global

Video Replay: U.S. Abortion Regression in the Global Context

Katy Mayall, director of strategic initiatives for the Center, spoke recently at the International Conference on Family Planning on how the fall of Roe made the United States a global outlier while contrasting the U.S. Supreme Court to courts in Latin America that have firmly recognized abortion rights as fundamental human rights. "The unexpected consequence of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision has been the fortification of abortion rights in countries worldwide," said Mayall.

Africa

Abortion in Kenya

Kenya's constitution recognizes abortion rights, yet patients and providers are still criminalized. The Center has been working with local partners since 2015 to advance reproductive rights in Kenya. Together we've achieved major victories, including earlier this year when the High Court of Kenya in Malindi affirmed that the arrest and prosecution of abortion patents and providers is illegal, and reasserted the constitution's protection of abortion rights. Learn more about our work in Kenya and see a full timeline of the legal developments here.

United States

Center Teams Up with Brennan Center to Launch Litigation Tracker

The Center just launched a new tool in partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law that tracks all abortion ban cases filed in state courts since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe. The tracker will allow people to check the status of these cases, including case documents and court orders. Since Roe was overturned in June, there has been a flood of new cases filed in state courts across the country to challenge various abortion bans.

"The response to the Dobbs decision is a testament to the increasing global recognition that abortion is a critical aspect of individuals’ fundamental human rights."

—Katy Mayall, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Center for Reproductive Rights